The invention relates generally to cameras such as so-called disposable single-use or one-time-use cameras, and in particular to camera with a decorative and functional cover attachment.
General
Film and cameras that are all in one, commonly referred to as disposable single-use or one-time-use cameras, have become well known. The one-time-use camera is a simple point-and-shoot type camera comprising a conventional film cartridge within a cartridge receiving chamber in a main body part, an unexposed film roll prewound from the film cartridge onto a film supply spool within a film supply chamber in the main body part, a film-exposing backframe opening between the cartridge receiving and film supply chambers in the main body part, a fixed-focus taking lens, a film metering mechanism with a rotatably supported metering sprocket that has respective sprocket teeth for engaging the filmstrip at successive film perforations, a manually rotatable film winding thumbwheel coaxially engaged with a film winding spool inside the film cartridge, a single-blade shutter, a manually depressible shutter release button, an exposure counter wheel that has a numerical series of evenly spaced exposure count indicia and is incrementally rotated to successively view the exposure count indicia, an anti-backup pawl that engages the exposure counter wheel to prevent its reverse rotation, a direct see-through viewfinder having front and rear viewfinder lenses, and in some models an electronic flash. A pair of separate front and rear cover parts house the main body part between them to complete the camera. The rear cover part connects to the main body part and/or to the front cover part to make the main body part light-tight. A decorative cardboard outer box or label at least partially covers the front and rear cover parts and has respective openings for the taking lens, etc.
After each picture is taken with the one-time-use camera, the photographer manually rotates the thumbwheel in a film winding direction to similarly rotate the film winding spool inside the film cartridge. This winds an exposed frame of the filmstrip from the backframe opening into the film cartridge and advances an unexposed frame of the filmstrip from the unexposed film roll to the backframe opening. The rewinding movement of the filmstrip the equivalent of slightly more than one frame width rotates the metering sprocket in engagement with the filmstrip to decrement the exposure counter wheel to its next lower-numbered indicia and to pivot a metering lever into engagement with the thumbwheel in order to prevent further manual rotation of the thumbwheel in the film winding direction. Manually depressing the shutter release button to take another picture pivots the metering lever out of engagement with the thumbwheel to permit renewed rotation of the thumbwheel in the film winding direction. When the maximum number of exposures available on the filmstrip have been made and the filmstrip is completely wound into the film cartridge, the one-time-use camera is given to a photofinisher who breaks away a cover door portion of the rear cover part from the main body part and removes the film cartridge with the exposed filmstrip from the cartridge receiving chamber. Then, he removes the exposed filmstrip from the film cartridge to develop the latent images and make prints for the customer.
Jap. Published Application No. 11-258661-Published Sep. 24, 1999
This publication discloses a one-time-use camera in which a mask plate is positioned between the front cover part and a decorative cover attachment to the front cover part which only partially covers the front cover part. The mask plate is rotatable about a taking lens mount protruding from a lens mount opening in the front cover part, to change the format (aspect ratio) of an object image seen in the viewfinder. A change-over actuator coupled with the mask plate is manually slidable within a curved slot in the cover attachment, to rotate the mask plate.
According to one aspect of the invention, a camera comprising a main body part, a pair of front and rear cover parts that house the main body part between them, and a cover attachment to the front cover part, is characterized in that:
an operational device is mounted on the main body part to be included within the front and rear cover parts, and is depressible to be activated;
the front cover part has a hole positioned over the operational device to permit the operational device-to be accessed through the hole to be depressed; and
the cover attachment to the front cover part covers the hole in the front cover part to conceal the hole, and has an actuating member that is depressible through the hole to depress the operational device.
According to another aspect of the invention, a method of activating an operational device that is mounted on a main body part in order to be included within a pair of front and rear cover parts that house the main body part between them in a camera, comprises:
locally depressing a cover attachment to the front cover part at an area of the cover attachment that covers a hole in the front cover part positioned over the operational device; and
moving an actuating member on the front cover part through the hole to activate the operational device when the cover attachment is locally depressed at the area of the cover attachment that covers the hole.